COVID knocked out car manufacturing worldwide. New cars, factory parts, after-market parts. Everything.
If you were lucky enough to 'get in line' for a new car, the wait (in the beginning) was months. Because of this, the value of used cars went up.
No secret here. It's supply & demand. Cars that are 3 years old selling for the same price as when they were new.
I don't 'need' a car, but I've been eyeing the market and shopping for a 'future car' as the one I currently own should easily last 10 years, I'm just considering something a little larger.
Visiting a dealer for a model I wanted to test drive, they only had one to demo. It's not for sale. They are taking orders on it that are approximately 6 to 8 weeks out depending on the color and options.
I asked the price and was told some 'strange code' like 6250. I asked what is a 6250 and the salesman mumbled something. Figuring where he was going, I clearly asked "Are you charging $6,250 over sticker price" his response was "It's negotiable"
An associate of mine sold cars and told me the hottest SUV right now is the KIA TELLURIDE at a sticker price of over $42,000.
Currently, there are bidding wars with people paying over $10,000 sticker just to get one!
I went to the KIA site to check availability, but I was unable to get information on this model. It's not found in inventory for all the local dealerships.
At some point, chips and cars will become available and the demand for new cars will diminish. Those inflated used-car prices will begin to level out too. That means (just like house buying) if you paid too much for a car now, in a few years your devalued used car price will be giving you sticker shock!
While watching some 'how to avoid car repair ripoffs' videos, I came across an episode of the TV show 60 minutes, about Nigerian scammers and how successful they really are.
This episode was based in Australia and Rosalee a woman gave $90,000 as a loan to a man she met online via photos but never met in-person. In addition to the loan, she incurred another $15,000 in phone calls.
She believes he will repay the loan.
Her brother sought the help of professional investigators. They traced the money trail to Malaysia. They created a reverse sting to scam the scammer and were able to nab the scammer and his accomplices. His phone had her number and 81 other Australian women he had been scamming.
They go to Malaysian prison then deportation back to Nigeria.
"He promised me absolutely a new life"
After telling Rosalee the outcome of the scam, she returns to the computer to find another guy. The investigators research him and he too is a scammer.
"Nobody buys me a drink... that's the whole problem"
Truck tires are treated differently than car tires. Car tires usually get discarded or chopped and recycled into other rubber products. Big truck tires for 18-wheelers are more expensive and get recapped when worn. The process takes a worn tire and puts a new layer of tread shaped and glued to the original core. The process is safety approved, but not perfect. Sometimes, the entire retread tire belt begins to delaminate, bits shred off and breaks loose from the tire core. Considering the numbers of trucks on the roads and you've done highway driving, you've probably seen parts of truck tires on the roadway.
While driving on the highway a few weeks ago, the car adjacent to me hit some shredded pieces of truck tire that flew up and hit the front of my car just under the bumper and grill. One piece was so large that it flipped around the tire and pulled away some of the cowling in the wheel well.
I reported this to the Highway Patrol and also my insurance company who assigned it to an authorized body shop near me. Dropping my car off, they arranged the rental company to pick me up to get a rental car covered under my insurance plan.
I'm into a Toyota Camry this week that's got 46,000 miles and very acceptable as a rental. I did a short highway trip and was totally surprised to be getting 41 miles per gallon! It didn't have all the features that my car has (like map & GPS, mirror warning lights when cars are approaching on my blind spot, keyless entry) but my last car didn't have those features either.
This week I've got several outside appointments and should be okay with gas mileage.
I pulled up a YouTube video of the process used to retread truck tires. The part I didn't like is the seam where the join at the wrap. Until I saw the video, I would have expected the entire recap to be one seamless piece pulled over the old core. It's deemed as a safe process.
There's talk about Ron DeSantis hosting rallies for Republicans across the country. I believe he may be attempting a 2024 presidential run and on the road doing these rallies.
In the past, Ron has argued 'gun-free' zones are less safe. Good Ron, then allow guns at the rallies you are appearing. I see a quandary here as many event organizers prohibit guns at their venues.
10 years ago I was tipping my hairstylist about 1/3 the price of a haircut.
4 bucks for a 12 dollar cut that usually took her 20 minutes.
I went to her last week and haircuts now are 24 dollars so the tip was $8
Same style haircut, same time to do it, double the price in 10 years.
Expect trouble.
Two young men wearing ski masks walk into a smoke-shop in Las Vegas (and a 3rd holds the door open) obviously looking to rob the place. They get asked to leave by the owner. One grabs the money in a tip jar and the other jumps over the counter (probably to grab merchandise) when the store owner quickly pounces on him jabbing him several times with (what appears to be) a small dagger. He goes down and the other 2 run away.
(so much for partners in crime)
Stated in the news TV followup, the door will be fitted with a buzzer to restrict entry.
I watched a handful of Border Security videos yesterday and came up with the feeling (like the UFO Hunter movies) they were all Staged. Perfectly filmed using professional actors.
The video attached is the Canadian version, border patrol and Airport customs. Interesting stories about procedures and determination of who gets through.
On another episode, a European woman who had previously worked in Canada with a proper work visa was returning with a tourist visa. They asked her if she intended to work while in Canada and she stated no. Security called her 2 previous employers, they both said they were expecting her. Due to not having a work visa and lied to security, she was denied entry for one year and had to return back home.
Infowars host Alex Jones appearing in court this week for the Sandy Hook Defamation trial didn't go well. The court ordered he must pay $4.1 million to the Sandy Hook parents of the victims.
Anticipating things to turn sour, he filed bankruptcy last Friday and gets subpoena for fraud.
That's a double whammy.
But wait! There's more... he's also being subpoenaed for his role in the insurrection.
You know one on January 6th that didn't happen!
I smell a TRIPLE WHAMMY...
Let that soak in as Lady Karma has been watching while he sleeps!
Do you like him better with or without the beard?
In America, serving chicken usually has it cut in parts, severed at the joints. Drumsticks, wings, thighs. It has always been thus. Ask Colonel Sanders... A bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken at a party and you would ask what part do you want?
Chicken stew and soup often had the bones removed so there were no surprises.
It wasn't until a coworker who hailed from Trinidad invited me to a Roti shop to have some traditional food from her country.
Simple description: a Roti is wrapped meat and potato pie with curry spice.
It didn't come with a warning that the chicken was randomly chopped and guaranteed to have sharp bone fragments! Trips to a Roti shop were limited.
Next up... lunch at a Jamaican restaurant. They have chicken, rice, vegetable on a plate. Your chicken choice is dark meat or white meat. Expect it to be randomly chopped with a meat cleaver. At least with the Jamaican style chicken you can make out the bone fragments.
The profile reads late 30's, dark blonde hair, blue eyes and she hates lies.
The photo is of a woman with white/grey hair and the black dye was done several months ago, brown eyes and appears to be in her mid 40's
Hmmm... let me think about this.
I caught a local news story about the driver of a Lamborghini who was speeding and ran a stop sign. He was T-boned by a Nissan SUV that caused the Lamborghini to flip an land on a house.
A mistake in the reporting:
(1:45 seconds) "the person in the 2nd car who was hit by the Lamborghini..."
No lady HE hit the Lamborghini, not the other way around.
The driver of the Lamborghini fled the scene, which is a felony in the state of Florida.
Link to Yahoo story:
Shrinkflation describes manufacturers making small changes to products, usually in quantity or size so the selling price remains the same.
An example would be a “Party Size” bag of corn chips used to be 18 ounces and now it's 15.5 ounces.
I noticed this with the bar soap I've been using for years. It was out of stock in a few stores for months and now the bars are smaller but the box is the same size.
Expect more of shrinkflation to come!
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